Mesothelioma Trial Attorney

Mesothelioma Trial Attorney

The Role of a Mesothelioma Trial Attorney

The role of a mesothelioma trial attorney is to protect the rights of mesothelioma victims and their families by getting them the monetary compensation they deserve and are entitled to. Even though the majority of asbestos-related lawsuits never go to trial, it is important to have an attorney on your side who is able and willing to fight for you fiercely in court if it comes to this.

A good portion of mesothelioma cases are settled out of court before they are anywhere near the trial process. A number of cases that make it to trial get settled prior to the trial finishing and the judge or jury making a decision over the outcome of the case. Even though there is a good chance that your mesothelioma attorney will not need to go to trial for you, it is important that they are ready to do this at any moment the need arises.

Steps of a Mesothelioma Trial Attorney

When a mesothelioma trial attorney cannot get a suitable settlement for their client, they will start moving forward to get ready to take your case to trial.

Trial Type

A first step for a mesothelioma trial attorney is to determine the type of trial they want. Depending on which state your claim is in, your attorney may have the choice between a jury or a bench trial. A jury trial is a trial that is held before a judge and a jury. The judge supervises the trial as well as provides instructions to the jury. The jury deliberates on what the judge instructs them to make decisions about and decides which side wins the case. The judge typically only interferes with a jury’s decision if the decision was not made in conjunction with the judge’s instructions and thus needs to be overruled. A bench trial is when a case is tried in front of and decided by a judge only.

Trial Date & Timeline

Many mesothelioma lawsuits take a few years before they are finished. One reason for this is that attorneys need to file lots of court documents and collect significant amounts of evidence before the court is willing to schedule a mesothelioma trial date. Motions and memoranda to decide various legal issues are typically filed before the case reaches trial. Once all motions are decided and discovery has ended, and there is no settlement, the parties involved in the case work with the court to set a trial date.

Settlement Negotiations

Settlement negotiations will likely have already been started but if they have not, there is a good chance that setting a trial date will get negotiations started.

Trial

If your trial involves a jury, it will begin with jury selection. Once this process is complete or if you are having a bench trial, it may take months to present opening statements, evidence, testimony, closing statements. If the plaintiff is in poor health, they may be able to get their case expedited.